Welcome~

Hi! My name is David Whitten. I’m interested in the general history of the glass manufacturing industry in the United States, especially within the sphere of container glass, electrical insulators and tableware (both pressed and blown).

Bottles, jars, jugs and containers of all types, antique fruit jars, glass insulators, fishing net floats, EAPG (Early American Pattern Glass), Depression Glass, antique children’s mugs, and other items are some of the forms of glass I enjoy learning more about. There’s alot of great information already available on the web, as well as in books and magazines, but I’ve tried to gather some of the very best, basic info together onto this site, in particular concentrating on identification marks found on bottles, insulators and tableware. I’m also in the process of adding various articles to this site, discussing various glass companies, different types of glass and glass items. This site is a “work in progress” started in 2004.

The glassmaking industry in the US is a huge field that dates back to the 1600s, and covers a vast array of items and applications, including both handmade and machine-made glass.

According to historian Rhea Mansfield Knittle (Early American Glass, 1927), one of the earliest glass manufacturers in the United States (not counting the unsuccessful attempts at Jamestown in 1607 and 1621) who may have produced considerable quantities of glassware and actually met with some degree of success, was Johannes Smedes (or Jan Smedes), who operated an establishment — probably making bottles for the most part– sometime in the period of 1654-1664 at New Amsterdam (now known as New York City) .

What is glass?

Note: Although some collectors and researchers may consider this an “obvious” question, it’s not quite as simple as that. For a brief, basic discussion on glass (especially concerning the most common type of glass used for containers and tableware), check out my webpage here: What is Glass?

Every glass object, even the most lowly, commonplace glass bottle, has a story behind it, although all of the precise details may never be known. Where was it made? What was the name of the company or factory where it was produced? How old is it? Is it handmade? Was it mass-produced by machine methods? What type of glass is it made of? What elements/chemicals were included in the glass “recipe”? Why is it a certain color? If it’s an older, hand-blown bottle, who was the glassblower who fashioned it? Who was the last person who used it and handled it before it came into your possession? Where was the physical location of the sand supply that eventually was turned into the glass piece that you hold in your hand? Is it American-made, or a piece that was produced outside the United States? Can the company / maker be identified by the markings on it? What do the markings mean?

All of these questions might come to mind to the collector or layman, flea market shopper, historian, archaeologist, or casual hobbyist……….. and my site attempts to answer, in at least some cases if possible, a couple of these questions: Where, and approximately when, perhaps, was this piece of glass made?

Glass-making factories in earlier days were, for the most part, rather unpleasant places…… the general inside environment could be, and often was, brutal. It was extremely hot (especially in the warmer months), noisy, and dangerous for a number or reasons. Injuries, especially burns and cuts, were commonplace. Fire was always a potential occurrence, and many early factories were destroyed by fire, sometimes leading to the complete closing down of a plant and/or failure of a company.
Antique and vintage glassware of all types and styles that are collected, studied and appreciated today are the tangible artifacts and testaments to the remarkable creativity, sheer hard work, energy, perseverance, and innovation of those men (and a few women) who worked in those earlier factories.

Five of the webpages within this site list glass manufacturers’ identification marks (alphabetically listed) found on container glass (bottles, jars, flasks, jugs, etc) and in some cases on other types of glassware. A few examples of marks would be “I inside a diamond”, “OWENS”, “B in a circle” , “K in a hexagon” and “N in a square”. Please click here which will take you to the first page with more introductory information and explanatory comments: GLASS BOTTLE MARKS.

On this site are a number of individual webpages with basic information on some of the glass factories that operated in the United States. To read any of the “glass manufacturer profiles” I have written (so far), and other articles pertaining to glass, please look along the right-hand side of any page for the list of Glass Manufacturer Profiles, and click on any link in that list. I hope to add more information as time and energy permits!

One page in particular within this site is a list of glass factories that manufactured, or are believed to have produced, glass electrical insulators for telegraph, telephone and/or power lines. Although mainly listing U.S. factories, a few Canadian and Mexican factories are listed also. Click here to go directly to that page. If you have additional information, please contact me (at the email address listed at the very bottom of any page on this site) as I’m continually looking for the most accurate data available on these companies. Sources of some of the information is included after each entry if I have it available. This is an ongoing project, started in 2004, and I’d appreciate any additions, corrections, or suggestions you may have!

Some of the information on glass insulators is from research originally compiled by N. R. Woodward, creator of the “CD” (Consolidated Design) numbering system now used worldwide by collectors for identifying and cataloging insulators. A portion of the info in this site pertaining to insulator manufacturers is drawn from various articles in the classic 2-volume reference book “INSULATORS: A HISTORY AND GUIDE TO NORTH AMERICAN GLASS PINTYPE INSULATORS” by John & Carol McDougald (published in 1990).

The glass insulator pictured on the right, a blue aqua or “Hemingray Blue” CD 257 “Mickey Mouse”, is a type made for electric power lines, and was made by the Hemingray Glass Company at their factory that operated in Muncie, Indiana. That particular example probably dates from sometime between 1900 and 1920.

I hope this site will be a help in your quest to discover more information concerning the wide world of glass and glass manufacturing. Please be sure to bookmark this site, and return often!

Willie, your amber Michelob beer bottle was made by Obear-Nestor Glass Company of East St. Louis, IL, but from your info there may not be a date code on it, so the exact year it was made may not be known. I would guess it dates from the early 1970s into the 1980s. The “20” is probably a mold identifier number. See my webpage on the “N in a square” mark.
Best regards,
David

A sea green colored, similar to a beer bottle shape that is heavy w/ thick irregular rough appearance, bottom has irregular thickness (a thicker slant to the right), writing on the bottle completes an oval shape (the top half “H.T.harris”, bottom half “Brighton”), in the middle of the oval marking has “Trade tht Mark”, The opening of the bottle is thick & bulbous that likely had a cork top.

Hey i found a bottle in my back yard. Many years ago the property was a nunnery & convoy. The house is old as hell. The bottle is still sealed an contains a white powder. I have no idear it has numbers on the bottom. 650 G232 Mo GM None in witch i can find on google. But im very interested. Also i found another. Actually i found heaps but these two are ones that intrest me the most.. the second bottle has “THIS IS THE PROPERTY OF WJ & BARNES PTY LTD MELBOUNRE” down the side. Both clear glass with rusted lids still on them.

Carli, I’m sorry but I don’t know anything about the bottles. Are you in the UK or Australia? Most bottles with just numbers on the bottom cannot be identified with precision. Please check out my page on “Numbers on the bottom of glass bottles”.
Take care,
David

I have just come across a ruby mason 1858 bottle. It is from a collector friend I know. I read your information about these bottles and am aware that they are extremely rare. The deep red glass is beautiful and thick. It has notes of amber around the very top of the lid and other beautiful hues difficult to explain and see because of the deep ruby of the glass. It does unfortunately, I think, have the marking on the bottom H3 then what looks like a backwards 9 and then an S that looks kind of like a 5. So this is certainly a reproduction? It is so beautiful!!! Valuable or just cool to look at. I, of course, want it to be authentic, but not just because of the value but because it is so beautiful. I understand that there were also reproductions made in the US during the last century that are very collectable. Any information would be greatly appreciated. I can send pics if you’d like. It’s a stunning specimen either way. Thank you.
Michael

Michael,
Your fruit jar is a modern reproduction, imported from Asia (China, India, perhaps other countries) within the last few years (probably no earlier than 1995…..perhaps just in the last decade). The ruby red color was NEVER used for authentic fruit jars. Just place it in a sunny window and enjoy the fabulous color, but be aware that it is not an old item, and was never used for canning. Many of them (in various wild and beautiful colors) are being sold on ebay and at flea markets around the country. Thanks for your post!
David

Lake Eufaula Oklahoma found a clear old round glass bottle with markings of W.F. Young Inc. and 18 in a circle. I have done a lot of searching including your site and think it is a horse care product some old cowboys must have carried with them. Found along North Canadian river where old Indian encampments are known to exist. How old could this be? Might want to continue searching in area. Thank you very much!!!!!!! Joe

Hi: not a comment but a question. I was born in Ridgway and spent my summers in that area during my teen years. I remember that in the 30’s Pennsylvania experimented with using broken glass (I believe it was from Brockway) in macadam. I can find no references on the Net. Do you have any information regarding that?

Hi David – I was browsing your site and you asked for info on years of operation of Central New York Bottle Company in Auburn NY. I worked there from 1983 until around 1990 and transferred to the Miller Brewery in Fulton NY. Miller (owned by Phillip Morris then) sold Central New York Bottle Company to Owens-Illinois in 1994. It is still in operation as Owens-Illinois Plant 35 in Auburn (Sennett) NY.
I believe your opening date of 1978 for CNYBC is correct.

David,
I have a 1945 Owen-Illinois liquor bottle. I was curious if you would know the distiller codes for that year. The distiller code on the bottle is D-567, liquor permit number is 88, and year is 45. I’ve tried to find it online, but can’t find anything.

I have an old apothecary jar which has been in the family for a very long time. It is large, probably 20″ tall, the glass top is intact. There is a “J” in a diamond on the bottom of the jar. I saw in your listings about the diamond “J” in reference to soda bottles but nothing about apothecary jars with this marking.

Deborah,
Since the “J in a diamond” mark is currently not identified with certainty (as far as I’m aware), I can’t comment with any authority on whether your apothecary jar would have been made by the same manufacturer. But it wouldn’t surprise me if it had been. Perhaps more information will surface in time.
David

I am trying to find out who is the producer of this glass jar. I can’t paste a picture of the bottom but it has a kind of big flower with 12 petals and a circle in the middle.
Could someone give me an idea?
Many thanks in advance,
Fadrique

Hi Joann, Gobs of bottles carry single numbers on the bottom, or sometimes along the lower heel. Those numbers are usually mold numbers. Please see my webpage on “Numbers on the bottoms of glass bottles”. There is no way to date a bottle by mold numbers. You can see mold numbers on modern glass bottles and jars in your refrigerator even today.
David

Hey david.. Please help! I have found a bottle washed up after hurricane matthew here in jax fl on the intercoastal. It is a one quart liquid, florida store bottle, on curve near the heel it has BB48 then on heel it has a large 3 cent mark. Also has duraglas and 17 oi diamond 3 and possibly a “c” below it. Think i know what plant. But am confused on possible year made. No stippling on bottom either. Any ideas or comments? Thanks!

Nic, I can’t say for sure, but I assume your find is a milk bottle. The “17” plant number (to the left of the logo) indicates it was made at Owens-Illinois’ Clarion, Pennsylvania factory, and the “3”, which is a date code, could stand for either 1933, 1943 or 1953. I believe it would be 1933 but I can’t prove that.
Hope this helps,
David

I’m at a loss of what to do, and I’m hoping someone can help. I recently received a very large cobalt blue bottle collection. We are talking at least 1,000 bottles. I have no idea what to do. I have been searching online and have very little to go on. Many still have labels, not all are perfect, but they are legible. I can’t find much. There are just so many. I hate to get rid of any, not knowing what they are worth. They were very valuable to the owner. Just to list a few : there are eye wash cups, vicks vaporub with contents, alka lithia with contents still inside, jasmine ink with labels, churchills juniper oil, rootone. That’s just among the 10 I’ve gone through so far. I’m overwhelmed. Is there somewhere I can take them for appraisal in Illinois? Sorry, I’m just losing my mind trying to look these up. Thank you.

Hi Adrienne,
I would strongly suggest you post your query on the http://antique-bottles.net site / discussion group, where many experienced, long-time bottle and jar collectors post all kinds of questions and comments. Surely someone there will give you better advice than I can. Get input from several collectors, not just one.
In any case, I STRONGLY suggest that you refrain from discarding any of the bottles. There are many collectors of cobalt blue bottles and jars, both old and new, across the country. Cobalt glass was used for several different types of bottles, primarily poison, medicine, cosmetic, and some older sodas, as well as other types. Eye wash cups are in demand and very saleable. I would guess that the majority of the items have moderate or only minimal value, but in a collection that large there are sure to be some “goodies”! Good luck and let me know how this turns out!
David

Hello. My dad found some whittmore Boston bottles and one of the bottle is misspelled instead of Boston it says botson. I can’t find anything about it or what it’s worth. Can you tell me anything about this? I have pictures if you want to see it.

Randi, Many older bottles have spelling errors and other embossing mistakes caused by the mold engraver. I haven’t heard of this error, but I am sure it would be of interest to anyone who collects Whittemore shoe polish bottles or related material. No info on value, but you can always try selling it on ebay and see what happens.
David

David, First I want to say thank you for creating this website. I’ve been collection Mason Jars for a couple of years now & I am starting to take interest in bottles & insulators. You’re website has helped me gain knowledge that I don’t believe I would have found anywhere else. Second, I recently picked up a bottle for about $1. I don’t believe that it is extremely old, but I am having trouble finding any information on it. The emblem on the neck & base of the bottle is CBQ Co I believe. The bottle is “stippled” all around. The design on the bottle is somewhat similar to a Ball Juice Jar. The base has the large ornate CBQ CO in the middle. Under that it says Cincinnati .O. Around the edges of the base it says, “Minimum Contents 24 Fluid Ozs” I’ve been looking around the website & under “glass bottle marks”, but I haven’t seen it. Thank you so much!

Ashley, I don’t know anything about your bottle. If you wish, you can email me a pic of the bottle and the base to my email address which is listed in the lower right hand corner of any page on this site.
Best regards,
David

Hi David, I found a green jar break with a mostly intact base. I’ve looked through your site and have been unable to find anything that matches the maker’s mark on the base of this jar. It is a scale (see photo: http://www.indycroft.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/DSCF0261.jpg ), it’s actually something I’ve never seen before and I’m not finding anything similar in other glass bottle mark resources. If you’re able to help identify the maker and a possible date range, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you!

Bry, the “Scales” trademark was used by McKesson & Robbins, a pharmaceutical company dating from the 1850s. You can probably find more info on that company with an online keyword search. I have seen the mark on the base of several types of emerald green containers. I don’t know the timeline it was used, but the jars I’ve seen look like they might date from the 1930s-1960s period. I think a lot of the M&R containers were made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company, in their standard “Seven-up green” or emerald green colored glass.
David

Debra, there are no books that will tell you ‘everything’ about jars, but I recommend the reference books “The Fruit Jar Works, Volume 1” and “The Fruit Jar Works, Volume 2” by Alice Creswick. Unfortunately, these books are very hard to find, are out of print, and when found they command a high price. There are several bookseller websites you can search, such as bookfinder.com. The accompanying price guide (updated every few years) to the “Fruit Jar Works” books is commonly called the “REDBOOK” which lists most known fruit jars. Another extensively researched book is by Dick Roller and is titled “The Standard Fruit Jar reference”. It is also very hard to come by. An older book with lots of good info (BUT quite a few errors in details such as factory attributions) is “FRUIT JARS” by Julian Toulouse, published in 1968. It is readily available on the resale market.
Another price guide, with background material, released in several editions is “The Guide to Collecting Fruit Jars (Fruit Jar Annual)” published by Jerry McCann and with material by Barry L. Bernas and Tom Caniff.
Some of these books might be available at a local library, or through interlibrary loan. Hope this helps,
David

I bought a Drey one pint jar with Perfect mason offset. The rim is very ruff and there are bubbles in the glass all over. It is clear. I am having a hard time finding out when it was possibly made.
I am new at this and love your website it has been very helpful. I have learned a lot.
Candice

Candice, The “DREY” fruit jars were made by Schram Glass Manufacturing Company, located in Hillsboro, IL. The “Drey Perfect Mason” was made in the early 1920s, perhaps around 1920 to 1925. Ball Bros. Glass Company purchased the Schram factory in 1925, but continued to produce more DREY brand jars for several years after 1925………..not sure how long after 1925 they were continued to be made. This info is from “The Fruit Jar Works, Volume 2” by Alice Creswick.
~David

David, while digging on my property I found a pristine brown bottle with a cork in it, while looking at the bottom, it has the O-I logo inside of a diamond near the top. To the left of the logo is a 7, to the right is a 1, and below it is an 18 with a period after it. Way below all of that it says 1845. On the side of the bottle are MILS graduations from 50-250. There is still a reddish-brown liquid sealed inside of it. I can’t seem to find anything quite like it described on your website. Is there anything you can tell me about it? I can send pics if you’d like.

Hi Jason,
You’ve found what I call a standard or “generic” chemical bottle. It is a typical cylindrical amber type of bottle used for all kinds of liquid chemicals and medicinal products (such as hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, rubbing alcohol, ammonia, cleaning products, farming-related products, fertilizers, pesticides, etc, etc) and it came in several sizes. I believe the type was made over quite a long period of time.
“1845” is the four-digit “stock”, “inventory” or “style” number assigned to that basic shape by Owens-Illinois. I have occasionally received enquiries from those who were wondering if it could be a date.
Just as a “study method” I often search through listings on ebay, comparing bottles that happen to be listed on that site. (Ebay is the major marketplace for bottles and jars of every description, new and old!) Here is a search that I came up with…….. Some of the listing results will be irrelevant, but you can see a few bottles similar to yours that came up in the list.

David,
I have a “AB” connected aqua quart bottle with the markings of “C 4” below the “AB”. It was found on a mining claim in northern California in the hills, north of Yreka. It is in great shape and I find it interesting that so many of these bottle are found near old mining camps.

Hi Greg, thanks for you post! Yes, it appears that lots of beer bottles were shipped out west in the late 1800s and early 1900s. In particular, the AB-connected bottles were evidently shipped all over the country and ESPECIALLY to the western states such as AK, CA, NV, AZ, UT, WY, CO and NM in the 1905-1909 (or later) time frame. It seems that a good percentage of the miners and other “Go-West-Young-Man adventurers” of that time period were heavy beer (and whiskey) drinkers.
~David

Hi we own a croft house in Yell Shetland Isles – when taking a wall down we found in the centre of the wall a glass fishing float it is made in two haves and has British Made with a star embossed on the bottom. It is clear or as clear as old glass can be! Can anyone say how old it is please?

Hi David, I have found a couple of old glass containers, which I dug up from the yard on the side of our home that washes when it rains. I have found an ace shoe polish bottle,(1940s according to some others i’ve seen on different sites),a jergens lotion bottle, and many pieces of old clorox dark glass bottles so i know old bottles and stuff are buried here from some time back. I found one today which looks common but I’m thinking it’s older like the rest. It’s small like maybe 12 0z size, only has markings on bottom,barely visible,which I think are L O w and seems to be dots before letter L and after w on the top. A circle impression is in the middle with a sideways 5 or S to the left of it, and what appears to be a partial 0 or maybe J 8 0 with a smaller font R, as the w appears in L O w. I tried to find info on it but can’t find anything.

I have a pint size flat whiskey or medicine bottle with purple tint that has mark of ” S. B. M.” on the bottom. Any idea of the maker. I looked through the bottle marks section and couldn’t find it. Suppose to have come from Leadville Colorado area. Thanks!

Hi Scott,
I’m not familiar with the mark, although it seems vaguely I might have seen it somewhere. It is possible the initials don’t stand for a glassmaker, but perhaps instead a whiskey distributor, pharmaceutical or chemical company or some other type of business concern. The fact that the last initial is NOT “G” (for “Glass”) or “CO” (for “Company”) or “W” (for “Works”) points just a little bit in that direction. But without more solid info, all bets are off!!
~David

Hi Michael,
Unless there was a typographical error in Scott’s post, he is asking about the mark lettered “S.B.M.”, not “S.B.W.”. S B W is believed to be a mark used by Saltsburg Bottle Works Company, of Saltsburg, Pennsylvania.
~David

Beth,
Many Brookfield insulators of the “later period” (perhaps c.1915-1920) bear so-called “shop letters/numbers” 00, X0, X1, and X2 on the dome. These are believed to be related to paying the particular “Shop” (group of glassworkers) involved in the production at the factory. There were likely several shops working simultaneously, each assigned a certain shop number or letter/number combo. Are you positive that the second character is a “P”?
David

Hi David,
I recently found a R & CO #22 bottle in my yard a few weeks ago, beautiful bottle! I was going throw um away but i decided to keep it, i just have no use for it! I live Maui & was surprised a bottle like dat was even on da island..

Hi Tiara,
Lots of the “R & CO” beer bottles, along with other bottles of every description, were distributed throughout the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s, (no doubt including Hawaii which became a U.S. territory in 1898) so they can theoretically be found almost anywhere! Thanks for writing~
David

After writing you I researched specifically the 3 medicine bottles i have they’re absolutely Owen Illinois.. the single digit to the right of the triangle confuses me slightly for instance one has a #4 does that mean 1934? Are the singles to right always from the 1930’s? But MOST important thing I wish to know that I have spent 3 days trying to figure out and your page nor internet says nothing n shows nothing about what the amber/orange/brown colored syrup like liquid is that’s identical in each bottle when it settles there’s a white layer that forms on the bottom also.. these 3 particular bottles tho I haven’t found a single picture of outta literally thousands I’ve found which leads me to believe they are extremely rare.. your thoughts?

Raena,
There is great confusion on the date codes used by Owens-Illinois. No one is absolutely sure of a way to identify the year many O-I bottles were made, since single-number date codes were used in the 1930s but also in later years.
Your bottle with a “4” could date from either 1934, 1944 or 1954. Sorry, I simply cannot state with absolute certainty. For more detailed background info on Owens-Illinois bottle codes, check out the link to the Bill Lockhart/Russ Hoenig article, (link farther down near the bottom of the text on my Owens-Illinois Glass Company webpage).
There have been gobs of different kinds of liquid medicines (aside from the most common such as cough syrups, tonics, laxatives such as castor oil, cod liver oil, etc) packaged in glass bottles, so it might be difficult to identify exactly what was in the bottles, perhaps unless you consulted a druggist or chemist more acquainted with the way the products look and change over long periods of time. In any case, I don’t think it matters much what was in the bottles. The white layer might be lime (calcium) perhaps an ingredient in the mixture which has “settled out” over time.
Best regards,
David

I have several questions I hope you can help me with I have 2 clear square about 16 oz glass bottles with lines going from top to bottom on 3 sides and a square space for a label both have an amber color liquid in them and a white consistency settled on bottom both have metal twist caps but one has sold only at Rexall Drug stores the other is a little unclear but has a picture of a horse in front of a tree and says keep tr… (something ) on the cap the bottoms on both have a embossed symbol that looks like a planet and a #4 & #8 on each side of the symbol and #4 under one’s symbol &#2 under the others symbol any ideas I’ve narrowed it down but can’t find anything exactly the same anywhere.. I also can’t locate a bottle that is the same as the bottle I have that’s very tall and says Mr Boston down each side and the name and pic of him on metal twist cap and embossed federal law forbids sale or reuse of bottle another says same federal law on front and cap says Kasko distillers Philadelphia with a crown and 2 circles one with a woman and one with two leaves saying fine quality in middle there is space for a label on each side with diamond shapes all over it. I’d appreciate any direction u can give me ty

Raena,
The only advice I can give you is to check out my page on Owens-Illinois Glass Company, the glassmaker who used what you call the “planet” symbol on their bottles from 1929 to the mid-1950s. I have no other info on the other bottles.
Best regards,
David

I have a 1953, 5 gallon bottle/jug made by the Owen Illinois glass company and it was made in Alton, IL and has a mold number 5. But it also has a number above the logo “5250” I have researched and found this information about the jug but have not found out about this. I hope you can tell me what it means. Thank you

Hi David, I have a pink satin glass perfume bottle in the shape of an upside down fan with a little round ball top. I don’t really know how to describe the mark on the bottom other than maybe four little leaves which come together to form a square. Can you possibly determine the origin from my limited description? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much.

i read your post on Dr. S. Pitcher’s Castoria bottles and read the longer CastoriaHistory.PDF that was in the comments section,and i think i might have a rarer bottle of its production location. Its the more or less standard aqua color, its hand blown, it has what appears to be 2 vent holes on either side and the embossing is extremely clear and its lettering edges are very sharp. On the bottom is has A.2. From what i have read, i would place it as the 2nd mold used in 1905 to produce these bottles at the American Bottle Company, and due to the sharpness of the lettering, it was produced using a new mold. Is this assertion correct?

Hi Andrew,
The article you cite about the Pitcher’s Castoria bottles is on another website and was not written by myself. It was written by Bill Lockhart with input from several other researchers and collectors. The information presented on that page re the “A” (plus number) marks on the base (of certain Pitchers bottles) as being a product of American Bottle Company is currently a hypothesis (theory) and has not yet been proven as fact. Therefore I can’t say whether your assertion would be correct. You might try contacting Mr. Lockhart and ask him for his thoughts on your bottle.
Best regards,
David

Hi David,
Can you tell me anything about an aqua bubble glass Mason jar I have that has “The Mason” embossed on it, with the “The” inside the opening loop on the word “Mason”? (Cursive script, angled up)
Thanks!

Heather, that particular style of Mason jar was made by Mason Fruit Jar & Bottle Company of Coffeyville, Kansas (1907-1909). It is listed as jar #1651 in the reference work “The Fruit Jar Works, Volume 1” by Alice Creswick, as well as the accompanying price guide known to jar collectors as the “REDBOOK”.
David

The family went kayaking yesterday and I spotted a blue bottle in the mud. I was wondering if you could give me some info on it. The Bottom has a M in a circle with the number 15 below I do have a pic. Thanks

Mark, please check out my list of glass marks in alphabetical order (Pages one thru 5). Your bottle with “M in a circle” was made by Maryland Glass Corporation. I also have a separate webpage on that company.
Best regards,
David

Hi Brad, For more in-depth info on the M.G.CO. beer bottles (made by Mississippi Glass Company, St. Louis), check out this article here:https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/mississippi-lindell.pdf .
There are a number of bottle molds that bear a “Maltese Cross” on the base along with the initials. No one is positive what it means, but perhaps the individualized mark of a particular mold engraver.
David

I have a bottle I bought in the late 50s or early 60s at my grand mothers house sale. this bottle looks to be 15-20 gallons made for water coolers on the bottom is wtco 2 on the top by the spout is k 23 w.t.co. I remember having to pay 5.00 for it. that was a lot for me that young and the only thing I bought at the auction full of many antiques!!!!!

Hi David, my niece found a Hazel-Atlas bottle that we can not find anything about; it is a brown glass quart bottle, with X – O – X on the shoulder, and bottom has Atlas symbol, Registered X-O-X U.S. Pat Off 9-A-4081. Thank you for you time, Susan

Susan, I think it might have been an obscure competitor to Clorox bleach, but I may be wrong. I can’t find anything of relevance on the web, although I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some information out there somewhere! There have been many short-lived companies and brand names, and sometimes about the only evidence left behind are the embossed bottles!
David

We recently found a Mrs. Stewart’s Bluing bottle on our property. It is an aqua blue color, has the I in the diamond but also has a 12 under the diamond. The 12 looks like a late 1800’s type font. Any idea how old this bottle is and what the 12 stands for? Thank you for any info.

Hi KP,
Huge numbers of MSB bottles were made for many years by several glass companies. Your particular bottle was made by Illinois Glass Company (see my page on that firm) and the “12” is a mold number.
David

The Key Glassworks, LTD., was an extensive British company that combined with others over the 19th and 20th centuries. During the 1950s, they used a small door key symbol with the key pointing left on their containers. They merged with United Glass in 1962, according to Toulouse, in his book, Bottle Makers and Their Marks (1971).

Thank you Michael!
Although I have had a copy of “Bottle Makers and their Marks” for many years, and a lot of the basic data on my site is based on Toulouse’s research, I completely forgot about that glass company in my earlier response to “4everycloud”. Never having seen that mark in person, I had neglected to list it on my site.
For more extensive info, Toulouse’s entry concerning Key Glassworks, LTD is on pages 299-302 of BM&TM. He also lists a “K in a square” mark as used by them from 1908-1954, and the door key symbol “since 1954”. Although, he didn’t state clearly whether or not the key logo was retired in 1962 when Key Glassworks merged with United Glass LTD.
Best regards,
David

Hey David. I have a mystery for you! Found two colorless ABM bottle bases embossed with T. G. CO. 1922. Can’t seem to track them down anywhere. They appear to be liquor bottles and were found in central Nevada.

Hi Cassy,
I don’t have any relevant information for you, and am not familiar with the mark you describe. According to Julian Toulouse’s “Bottle Makers and their Marks”, on page 493 he lists a Toronto Glass Company (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and claims they used the mark “T G Co” but he writes that company was in business from 1894 to 1900, which is definitely too early for the machine-made bottle that you are describing.
Also, I’m not sure in your case if the “1922” would be a mold/style identifying number, or have any relation to an actual date.
Best regards,
David

Hi David
My fiance and I are avid seaglass hunters, I recently found a half bottom glass bottle with the markings PL inside what looks like a shield. It is in the shape of a rounded rectangle. These are the only markings I have and I have searched your site over and over and cannot seem to figure out what this is. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thank You
Shawna

I bought a glass decanter at a thrift store about 5 years ago. It is clear glass, marked 1 quart, 3 sides are molded with squares that contain 4 pyramids which meet in the middle of each square. One side of the decanter is clear. The marking on the bottom is an oval inside a diamond with an I inside the oval. The number to the left is a 7, to the right is a 2, and below is the number 4. Can you tell me how old it is ? I think I paid $2 for it.

Hi Mary,
Your piece was made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company (see my webpage on that glassmaker). The “7′ stands for their glass plant at Alton, IL. The “2” is a year date code which would stand for either 1932 or 1942. I cannot say for sure which year that would be. The “4” is a mold number.
Hope this helps,
David

I have stumbled across 8 thin gold leaf rimmed Highball? glasses. I cannot find a maker mark because im ignorant or there is nothing on any of them, i thought i seen what appeared to be an “F” on three of the eight. I hope this isnt against the rules but i posted via another website with pictures on an attempt to ID them.

there are two pictures, one looks like a regular glass, you have to click on the thread to see the other.

It has the Irish Clan of Arms for the “Coopers”

Is this a novelty item that perhaps someone bought because their last name was cooper, or could these have been owned by a Family member many years ago.

Either way I plan on using them if they are worthless, If not they will go in my collectibles display. I would like to know anything about them.

Ben, without a glass manufacturer’s mark, it is hard to be sure who might have made them, or how old they are. Are you familiar with the “Cursive L” mark by Libbey? Libbey has made Tremendous numbers of drinking glasses of all types and sizes over several decades. Also, the mark “F in a shield” is the mark of Federal Glass Company, also a prolific maker of glassware.
~David

I have a three-part iron Anheuser mold from my father and his days at Obear-Nestor Glass. Just wondering if you or anyone else you knew would be interested in adding it to a collection. I can email photos if needed.

Found a blue bottle on the south shore of long islands great South Bay today below is what it written. Note no MD next to Baltimore Approx 2 1/2″. Unfortunately a broken top no markings on bottom Thanks for any info. Did look up company but found none without MD
Bromoseltzer
Emerson
Drug co
Baltimore

Robert, here is some information (albeit from Wikipedia!) on the Emerson Drug Company. Being a pharmacist, I find historical pharmaceutical bottles so interesting! I have a small collection I’ve acquired from antique shops over the years.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Edward_Emerson

Was canoeing out of Florida city in the Gulf of Mexico when I came upon a bottle that had washed up around Cape Sable. Great condition and fully intact.I collect bottles, so looked it up when I got back a week later. AB P24 beer bottle. I was stunned at the age of the bottle , to be in such great condition.A real lucky find.

David, I recently found an aqua colored bottle with AB not connected but double stamped with the number 74 or 77 below it. I have researched it with no success so far and was hoping you may have some information on it. Thank you

Brandon, all that I can tell you is what is already written on my site about the AB marks. (See pages on those marks). It was made by American Bottle Company, probably dating from the 1905-1917 period. The “74” or “77” is a mold number, and the double-embossing is called ‘ghosting’ by some collectors. That happens occasionally when the bottle is being blown. The molten glass shifts position slightly/momentarily when contacting the inside of the mold during manufacture, picking up a “double impression” of the engraving before solidifying into it’s final position. That happens within seconds.
David

Hello,
I’m not sure if you can help but i live in Australia and today I found a J.R Watkins co. bottle. I have read about the company and found that they are a medicine company it also said they had factories in the U.S England, Asia and Australia.
My bottle isnt like the bottles i found on the internet, the ones online most have cursive embossed writing with longish necks and no lids. ( google The J.R Watkins co old bottle).

My bottle is a clear glass bottle with embossed block writing that says

THE J.R WATKINS co.
MADE IN AUSTRALIA

It has a short neck with (what i think is tin) screw on lid with their logo and Watkins written on
on the bottom is a logo thing then the number F168 then beside it is a lone M

I would like to know what it would have had in it an how old it is,
thanks a lot from
Elise

Hi Brian,
Please check out the 2 pages on my site with info on these bottles. Although no particular example can be dated to a certain year, the “AB connected” beer bottles with the letter/number combos underneath are believed to date between the years 1905 and 1917. Here are the articles with more info:AB-connected mark on beer bottles and List of AB-connected bottle base mold codes .
This is all of the information on those bottles I have on the site. Thank you for writing!
David

Just an FYI. I recently found a small clear glass medicine bottle embossed BW&CO. I think this is the Burroughs Wellcome & Co. {I’m not 100% on this.} It is about 2 inches high, 1 1/2 inch across and 3/4 inch wide. It still has the metal cap, badly rusted, fully intact. By the necking it looks to be from the 1930’s, as it is a single twist ‘thread’. The only markings are the BW&CO on the bottom. Does anyone have input on this marking and bottle type?

Hello Mark,
Thanks for your comment! I’m not personally familiar with that marking, but doing a bit of research, I am sure you are 100% correct on the mark attribution. Burroughs Wellcome & Company was founded in 1880 in London. (Merged with Glaxo in 1995 to form Glaxo Wellcome, now GlaxoSmithKline). An online search of photos of various bottles marked “B W & Co” show a variety of types, all fairly small medicine bottles, mostly in clear, aqua or amber glass. I would guess they mostly date from the c. 1890-1930 period, but it is hard to tell without examining individual examples closely for details on whether they are handmade (mouthblown) or machine-made.
I’m assuming the BW&CO bottles are much more commonly seen in Great Britain rather than here in the United States. If anyone else wants to submit a comment here on the BW&CO bottles, please do.
Best regards,
David

I have just received (December 2015) an odd embossed NDNR NEHI soda bottle with the traditional M-in-circle mark dated 1980. It is not the traditional silk stocking NEHI design, but a coverage of dots in relief. Within the coverage are the traditional NEHI candy cane lettering design for all the fruit flavors. The logo is twice around the bottle. The bottle contains the original grape flavor cap for the Royal Crown Cola Bottler of Norfolk, Virginia. Every NEHI man I have shown it to is outraged by this design! –MikeEinTennessee

David. My name is Brad W.Recently I’ve found a very large ( probably 25-30 gallons) clear glass bottle complete with glass stopper. Looks like a Sparklets bottle. The only visible markings are located on the top rim below the stopper. Markings are W.T. CO. E “E” is not punctuated and several spaces between CO and E. Whiteland Tatum Co. I can’t find any images of vessel’s this large. Not even close! Curious to find out how old it is and the original contents. Portions of the glass appear to be opelized. Any info? Thanks David

Hello Brad,
I know that Whitall Tatum made a huge variety of bottles ranging from tiny vials to huge carboys, but that sounds like one of their largest bottles they made! I am sorry but I have no information about it. I’m assuming it is a water bottle or chemical/acid bottle, and would certainly have originally been used along with (housed inside) a plywood crate to protect it during transportation.
Best regards, David

Hi Jake,
You have found a “beehive” style telegraph insulator made by Brookfield Glass Company. (Check out my overview on that company here).
Some of the more commonly-found insulators seen along railroad tracks include these: Hemingray-42 (CD 154), which was the most common insulator used along railroads; Hemingray No. 40 (CD 152); Whitall Tatum No. 1 (CD 154 or CD 155); Armstrong DP 1 (CD 155) and others, but the “beehives” are somewhat older and they include the ones such as “H.G.CO.” (usually with an H on top) ; “H.G.CO. / PETTICOAT” made by Hemingray; “BROOKFIELD / NEW YORK” ; and the ones just marked “B” on the side. Most of the “B” beehive insulators have a “shop number” or mold number on the top. OO, OX or OI are examples. Sometimes the numbers appear backwards. Most, if not all of the “B”s were made between about 1906 and 1920 at Brookfield’s second plant located at Old Bridge, New Jersey. They range in color from light aqua to light green, medium aqua, to darker teal green, grass green, olive green and even a few ambers. Off-clear (light purple) beehives are also found. Hope this helps, David

Boyd, there have been many, many different types/series of Ball Perfect Mason jars that were made over the years. Many different mold numbers and letter/number combinations are known. I was speaking of the most commonly found type of AQUA-colored BPM jars which typically do have a number (usually positioned in the center of the base), between 0 and 15 on the bottom. I’m sure there are exceptions here and there. I think some of the earliest versions of those jars have a letter/number combo on them instead of just a number. For more insight from Ball collectors, you might try posting a query on the antique-bottles.net site where there is a discussion section for fruit jar collectors.
Best regards, David

Hey David. I collect clorox bottles, and I know they aren’t worth much but it is fun for me. I have three made 1946-47 that were made with clear glass. Two quarts and one half-gallon. I am getting ready to get another one, a quart, and all of these quarts were apparently made at the Clarksburg O-I plant (#4). (4-6 under the Clorox logo) The half-gallon has a #20 which I think is San Francisco. (20-7 under the Clorox logo) Do you have any idea why clear glass was used instead of the standard amber? Also 3 of the 4 bottles were in North Carolina when I got them.

Johnny, I can only make a guess, but it is my hunch that sometimes if there was a very large order of bottles being made and they were pressed for time, trying to produce the bottles as quickly as possible, they might have utilized clear glass from another tank (in addition to the amber tank) to help make up the difference. This was also shortly after the end of WWII so maybe there was some supply-related connection there?? I simply don’t know!
~David

Hi David,
You have a photo of “CALDWELL’S SYRUP PEPSIN/ MFD. BY /PEPSIN SYRUP COMPANY / MONTICELLO ILLINOIS”. I have the same bottle but smaller than the one in your photo. It has an S on the bottom. You do not mention a possible S in the following paragraph. But when I look up a simple S as a mark you wrote it could possibly be from Lyndeboro Glass Company, South Lyndeborough, New Hampshire. Do you think they are the maker? What is on the bottom of your bottle?
Julia

Hi Julia, I don’t think there is any connection. The “S” on the bottom of certain antique liquor flasks believed to have been made at Lyndeboro is a different “ball of wax”. The Caldwell’s Syrup Pepsin medicine bottles were (for the most part) made during later years, and many of them carry mold numbers and/or letters on the bottom which just identified a particular mold being used at the factory. I can’t prove it, but I think they are completely unrelated.
Best regards, David

David: I found a clear glass bottle on a shipwreck that dates to 1872. Unfortunately I only have pieces. I can make out the following words and numbers: “Metropolitan Mil?” “157 6th” “W. Boulev?” “CCO Branch” “48” “New York”

I have a 15″ round x 10″ tall bubbled glass bottle. It is etched with my grandfathers name followed by his birthyear 1898. The bottled is filled with an anchor and crosses. The top has a wood cork held in by a wood pin as well as a second wood pin under the throat of the bottle. I have no idea where this was made or how it was made. Any suggestions?

I worked at a glass plant in Minnesota (Brockway Glass Co.) when I was younger. The air bubble defects were called blisters. Some of the more exotic defects in a glass bottle was a strand of glass across the body of the bottle. It was called a bird swing. Or small bits of glass on the bottom of the bottle called tramp glass.

Mark, thanks so much for the interesting “inside” information! I appreciate your post! I was familiar with the term “blisters” but had not heard of the other two terms. So why were base bits called “Tramp Glass”? Because they were “hitching a ride”? Or sorta like being stuck to the bottom of a shoe after “tramping through broken glass”??!
Best regards, David

Thanks for the wonderful information. I just found a Boyd’s Milk Glass lid in my yard in Northwest Arkansas. I live on top of what I think was a late 1800s, early 1900s dump site. That’s my guess from the variety of glass shards that turn up after every hard rain.

David, I have a 5 gl glass jug. It says Mountain Valley Mineral Water. Hot Springs Arkansas on the side. On the bottom it has the diamond/o/I with a 7 on left side, 8 on the right. 5295 above the diamond/O/I and a 5 below. Can you tell me anything about it and what it may be worth? Thanks. Tammy Joslin, Wilburton OK. jo

Hi Tammy, your water bottle was made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company. See my page on that company. The “7” is a plant location code for their Alton, Illinois factory. The “8” is a date code……. 1938 or 1948, don’t know which. “5295” is an inventory/catalog number assigned to that style. “5” is a mold number. This site is not intended to be an appraisal site (although I have mentioned this repeatedly on my site, including in the introductory comments on the GLASS BOTTLE MARKS pages, but I’m still constantly bombarded with questions on value) so I now just advise collectors to go on ebay or other sites and find comparable bottles and check ending prices (actual COMPLETED auctions, NOT asking, beginning, or minimum prices). Best regards, David

hi David, thanks for the info. I bought 2 giant amber (beer) bottles at a WI estate sale yesterday which you have helped me identify as Owens Illinois, 1934 & 1935, plant #6 (Charleston WV), mold #7. They have flip top rubber stoppers with wire and one has remnants of the original “consumption tax” label, or I think that’s what it is. One is open (the other stuck shut); I examined the bottom of the open one’s rubber stopper and it’s marked but too hard to read. Thanks again.

HOW WERE THE GRAPHICS APPLIED TO VINTAGE JELLY JAR GLASSES ? EX. TOM & JERRY
WHAT TYPE OF APPLICATION WAS IT AND WHAT IS IT CALLED? THEY NEVER SEEMED TO WEAR OUT LIKE MORE MODERN GLASSWARE OR AT MOST – VERY LITTLE. . GOSH – I SURE MISS THOSE DAYS ….

Hi Bob and Mille, The process is usually called “ACL” or “Applied Color Label”. It was developed in the 1930s and used a lot on soda and milk bottles, and was also used on other items such as jelly glasses and tumblers. Here are a few links to check out, for info on this process of adding color to the outside of glass………..http://www.bottlebooks.com/acl%201937/bottles_applied_color_labels.htm

Hello David-
I have an old aqua bottle with the R & CO on the bottom but instead of a number under the R & CO there us just the letter R. I followed your suggestions to check out the glass maker marks but didn’t see any mention as to what the R might stand for. Could you please enlighten me? Thanks!

Hi Rita, I assume it is just a bottle mold identifier (or “shop” identifier), serving the same purpose of the numbers often seen immediately below the “R & CO” marking. Sometimes letters were used instead of numbers. If there is any specific reason above and beyond this, I don’t know what it would be.
David

I found a 7 oz. clear glass bottle embossed with ”Mtn. Grove Creamery Ice and Electric Co. Mtn. Grove Missouri. It also had embossed on the bottom M. G. 7 oz. Is this the makers mark? At the base of the bottle I found 081410R. The bottle has the ”whittled” look to it. I also have a “Coke” bottle that has Mtn. Grove Missouri embossed on the bottom of it. I grew up in Mtn. Grove but no longer live there. Do you know if there was a bottle mfg. co. there ?

Hi Mark,
I’m not familiar with the bottle, but a quick google search (of “Mountain Grove Creamery Ice and Electric Company”) indicates the company was in business in the early 1920s, and they produced ice cream and butter. There was a fire in 1922 which caused a great deal of damage. I am guessing the bottle could be a soda bottle (?) and perhaps they sold a variety of other products including carbonated beverages. Some ice companies in the late 1800s and early 1900s were known to bottle beverages in addition to selling ice.

Concerning the Coke bottle, if you get a chance please check out the introductory comments on my page “Glass Manufacturers’ Marks on Coke Bottles”. I am sure there was no actual bottle-MAKING factory at Mountain Grove, but there would have been a local BOTTLING (filling) plant located in that city or nearby. Coke had bottles made for them (by many different glass companies over the years) with the names of well over a thousand towns and cities across the United States embossed on the bottoms, and the bottles were meant to be circulated within that area and returned to the local bottling facility for re-filling. Many of the older Coke bottles (and other brands of soda) were filled and re-filled dozens or even hundreds of times during their “use life”. Most Coke bottles have a glassmakers’ mark on them, alhough it may be faint………sometimes on the “waist” or “heel” area of the bottle, or on the base.
Hope this helps a bit,
David

I found an A.B. Co. bottle in 1962 in mint condition, looks like it was made in a wooden mold and has an applied lip. It has A.B. Co. D 9 on the bottom. The B. and the C are doubled stamped. Have anyone seen another doubled stamped beer bottle like this and is it worth anything?

Hi Diana,
Although there has been alot of misinformation published over the years about “wooden molds” being used for bottle production, the great majority of glass containers made after the 1840s or 1850s era were not made in wooden molds, but in cast iron, and later, steel, molds. Sometimes the surface of the glass has a “grained pattern”, or so-called “whittle” that appears to have been caused by forming in a wooden mold, but in general this “look” was actually caused by the molten glass being blown into a mold that was not quite pre-heated properly. The molten glass begins to cool a little too quickly in contact with the inner mold surface, and this causes a distorted or smeared look to the finished bottle, sometimes looking like the surface of wood that has been whittled or “flaked”, hammered metal surface, or like the appearance of heavy rain beating against a windowpane.
ALSO, especially in the 19th century and before, some bottle and jar molds were poorly “finished” (the inside surface was not well smoothed or polished, or was developing rusty areas) and these are other reasons why the surface of a finished bottle may not look quite “right”.

Also, the “double stamped” appearance of the letters B and C is called “ghost embossing” and this is very common on glass insulators, also sometimes seen on bottles. This occurred when the molten glass shifted very slightly within seconds, (or fractions of a second) of being blown into the mold, “picking up” a part of the lettering, before coming to rest in it’s final position inside the mold, creating the double-stamp effect.
In general, ghost embossing does not increase the value of glass, although it is of some interest to those collectors who look for oddities and manufacturing errors in antique bottles and insulators.
The “A.B.CO” and “AB connected” beer bottles were made in very large numbers, so being so plentiful, they have only minimal values to bottle collectors, even considering the fact they are authentic antiques and most are well over a hundred years old.

I was wondering what the bottle was on the far left on your front page picture (left of green insulator and red hobnail voitive). I have a similar bottle that is 90 mm tall, 2-piece mold, entire seam with no finish (on rim), uneven, unground rim and very irregular light green tinted glass with air bubbles. The glass is very irregular in thickness and the rim is uneven with no internal or external roll. No markings…any help identifying this would be wonderful. Thanks

Hi Kaye,
I believe it is a type of “tube vial”. The example shown is similar to what you describe…….it is handmade, about 87 mm tall, two vertical seams from top to bottom, in a very light green-aqua tinted glass. Smooth base with no markings. I believe I found this in a dump or construction site somewhere, but to be honest I don’t remember exactly where, or what age range of items were found with it. However I believe it does date from sometime in the 1870-1910 time period. This link shows a page from a catalog showing bottles of a somewhat later time period (Illinois Glass Company, 1906 catalog, on Bill Lindsey’s bottle site)— check out some vials shown here:http://www.sha.org/bottle/Typing/IGCo1906/IGCo1906page88.jpg
Best regards, David

i have an amber bottle with jaynes written downwards on one side and tonic on the other.and in between that it says “good for mother and child (in caps) on the bottom it has “CROWNFORD Co (with a _ under the o) INC” also it has most of the paper label “JAYNE”S EXPECTORANT for coughs colds there is more. the picture is a kid about 4 or 5 yrs old onthe shoulders boy looks about 12 or 13 yrs old. the clothes look like from early 1800s. it holds about a qt. i can’t find it anywhere on line. any ideas on the age of it.

Hi Mike,
It’s a reproduction bottle, (loosely patterned after original bottles from the late 1800s marked JAYNES) probably dating from the 1970s. See my webpage on Crownford China Company. Most of the glass bottles sold by/through that distributor were apparently made in Italy.
David

I found some galsses that are blue they look like wine glasses with unique detail& a a oval with a face engraved in it im very curious about them theres an AVO then what looks like an upsidedownv & #s stamped in middle of the bottom if there is somewere I can reasearch these id love to see were they’ve come from thanks

I have found a small clear bottle with a star embossed on the bottom that says franklin product and has some orange thick stuff still inside with a non-removable lid that has a hole in the top. Can anyone tell me about it?

Here’s what I have to say about your site:
It has been nothing but helpful to me in identifying age, maker, and what is real/fake (like nuking) in terms of all things collectible glass. Thanks so much for creating this wondrous place!
With gratitude,
Yogi Bear.

Hi David, I have a bottle shard with an acorn on it. When I researched it I found your article and this awesome website. My question is that the stem on the acorn goes to the left and not the right like you show, and I’m sure what I have is not the bottom of a bottle. Do you think this is the Bellaire Bottle Co mark ? Thank you for your help, Norene

Several years ago, my father found a similar bottle (clear glass) with the D&M marking and the number 13917, on a beach on the Island of Dominica in the Caribbean. 20″ tall and 5.5″ in diameter at the base.

I’ve just started collecting vintage jars & don’t know a lot about them. I’ve got some old blue numbered Ball Perfect Mason Jars & I’m wondering if the ones that have a line with the number is suppose to be read with the line over the number or below it. Thanks.

Hi Jerry, the number is read with the line underneath it. An underline is usually seen with a “6” or a “9” mold number to clarify which numeral is meant, since the number might otherwise be read upside down. Although it is sometimes obvious which number is meant, there are a number of different ways in which they were drawn, occasionally leading to some confusion.
~David

Cindy, Owens-Illinois plant #17 was located at Clarion, Pennsylvania. Originally Berney-Bond Glass Company, later acquired by Owens-Illinois, operated as plant #17 from circa 1930, up til it’s closing in July 2010!

Hi Cynthia,
No Vaseline jars were ever made in the eighteenth century (1701-1800), but I’m assuming you meant the 19th century (1801-1900). The earliest type of marked Vaseline jars (the cork-top style, as shown on the far left in my photo of clear jars on my webpage about Vaseline jars) were probably introduced in the late 1870s or sometime in the 1880s, although no one knows exactly when. They are common enough to have a relatively low value to bottle collectors, perhaps 2 to 5 dollars in excellent condition. However, I am not really an appraisal site, so I can’t vouch for that value estimate. A keyword search on ebay over several months’ time period may yield better info on the prices they actually sell for.
Best regards, David

Hello David….
I am completely amazed to of happened upon your “very informative” website on the Glass Mfg. History. In an added note to your statement under AVON BOTTLES…..

“There may have been other glass manufacturers involved in the production of Avon glassware, although I am not sure of their identities, if so. If you have pertinent information in that regard, please feel free to contact me!”.

…… I can confirm to you that several AVON Decanters were manufactured by Owen-Illinois, especially at the Huntington, WVa. plant. My Mom-in-Law worked for the Huntington, WVa. plant for about 25 years up until they closed the plant (approx. 1993/1994). We have a pair of original AVON Dueling Pistol 1760 decanters ( glass only not the added silver plastic decor or bottle caps). One has on the Butt of the pistol “AVON 5” and the other “AVON 10”. From what I’ve found in research these decanters were marketed by AVON, around 1973 with Deep Woods After Shave.

Can you give us any idea what these glass factory blanks could be worth??? I can send pictures also if you would like, just let me know.

Thanks Carlena, I appreciate your information. Owens-Illinois seems to have made just about every kind of bottle, jar, jug or flask imaginable (as well as lots of other kinds of glass items), so this would not come as much of a surprise. I have no idea on “value” of such items. I am sure they would have some value to “serious’ collectors of Avon bottles and memorabilia, but I don’t know enough about them to make a judgment call on their average market “worth”. What color is the glass on these bottles? Do you know what glass colors Owens-Illinois utilized for the Avons they made? If you wish, you can send pics to my email address (listed at the bottom right corner of any page on this site).
Best regards, David

I have a green glass jar or vase shape – approx. 5″ diameter at base and 9″ high, 2″ at neck. It has a five thin spirals of glass from the top which end with the seal. This is a head and shoulders with a face on it and a line around the head depicting hair. The seal aperture is about 1″ across. I would appreciate any knowledge of this jar please from anyone. Many thanks, Eleanor (UK)

Hi David, I have the rarest Avon bottle to date. The tan top,Yellow taxi. The production was stopped due to the mistake of the style and color not matching the picture on the box. The production was stopped after only a handful was made. The new taxi would have a black top now matching the box. The style of the top would also be changed. The black top taxi would be produced in large numbers marked 41338 or 41397 or 41369 all posted on the net. This mistake of the tan top and style would become the least produced in number Avon bottle to date. The bottle 42418, is this the 18th one made in the production?

hi david:
i found an old hazel atlas jar. it has the little a inside the large H stamped in the bottom. it is tear drop shaped and appears to have 5383 above the ha. i have looked for the jar and the # but cannot seam to find anything about it. its a really neat shape and im curious about it. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks Steve Harford NY

Hi Steve, there are a very few known Hazel-Atlas catalogs still in existence picturing many of their bottles and jars from the early 20th century, but I don’t have access to them.
Hazel Atlas made thousands of different types of bottles, jugs, jars, etc over many decades. Many of H-A’s containers bear four-digit numbers on the bottom which are design or inventory numbers assigned to a particular shape or size. I don’t know when the “5383” style jar was made.
David

I am trying to find out who the manufacturer of glassware with the hallmark “T” with a star around it is. I have some codd bottles that were unearthed in Scotland with this hallmark and nothing else. Please, if anyone has any information I would love to know!

Erica, I’m posting your query here. I am guessing the “T inside a star” might be he trademark of a glass company that operated sometime in the late 19th, into the early 20th century in Great Britain (although I do not know), or it might stand for a soda water company or distributor (??). Maybe someone who specializes in collecting Codd-style beverage bottles will have more information for you.
David

I have a ABGA (in cursive script) mason perfect made in the U.S.A however the glass lid has abca at the four corners of a cross ? Is this (as I think), a 1920s jar? and can you tell me anything else about it thanks.

Alex,
According to information in the reference book “The Fruit Jar Works, Volume II” (1987, by Alice M. Creswick and Stephen B. Creswick), on page 1, three variants of the ABGA jars are listed and illustrated. These jars are described as having been made by both Hazel-Atlas Glass Company and Ball Bros Glass Company FOR the Anglo-Belge Glass Association of London, England. “Circa 1910 and later”. Your particular jar variant is listed as Jar #5 (also listed as such in the accompanying “Redbook” price guide for jars). This is the only information I can provide. Perhaps a reader might know more about them.
~David

I recently purchased an E O Brody piece (M6000) but the “Y” is upside down! Does this indicate a year of manufacture? how many others have this anomaly ? any other info regarding this would be of great help.

Troy, I strongly doubt that any markings on the E O Brody glass items are actual year date codes. However, perhaps a reader out there has more info on these markings. Maybe we’ll get lucky, and a former worker who made this glass can ‘clue us in’ on the meanings of the marks. I assume the “M6000” is a code number for that particular style vase or bowl.
Best regards, David

I have a glass bottle with a circular base bottom. The bottom has “47” on it, with two rings of circles around it almost like a target. Do you have any idea what company may have made this? I found it on a beach in Delaware.

Hi Sage,
The bottle base sounds like that seen on alot of the typical glass non-returnable soda bottles produced in the 1970s-2000s era, especially on alot of emerald green bottles that once held such sodas as Sprite, 7-up and other lemon-lime brands. Many of them are marked on the bottom with a mold number or other numbers placed in the center of concentric raised lines. Large numbers of those bottles were made by Owens-Illinois (I inside an O); Brockway Glass Company (B in a circle); Anchor Glass Container Corporation (anchor symbol); Glenshaw Glass Company (G in a square); Liberty Glass Company (L G) and other glass companies. Would there be a small emblem or logo along the outer rim of the lower “heel” area of the bottle which may signify glassmaker? Sometimes the glassmaker can be identified by studying the heel closely……however many times the raised embossing is very faint. The base shards are often found by “sea glass” collectors beachcombing along the shores of lakes, rivers and oceans. Hope this helps! David

HI David,
Thank you for contacting me with this information. I also checked out the google patent site. It was interesting to read. I am still trying to find more information about what product was put in the bottle after it was manufactured. It’s pretty interesting. Thanks again.

Hi Michele, from the design of the bottle I would assume it was intended to be a cologne or perfume bottle. Perhaps someone will run across an example with the original label still affixed! Thanks for your reply~
~David

I have a floral pot with E. O. Brody A-1431. There is also a sticker the botton the says design original y E. O. Brody, Cleveland,, Ohio Made in Japan. This is probably a mass produced floral vase. Does the A-1431 mean there were 1, 431 of these made?

Hi Karleen,
No. I’m not sure if you are speaking of a ceramic vase, or a glass vase?? In any case, although the number A-1431 does sound like it might be a “serial number” or one in a series of unique numbers applied to a product (similar to a “limited edition” serial number), this is not the case. It’s merely a catalog, style, or inventory number assigned to that specific vase design. I’m quite sure that all examples of that particular EXACT type of vase will carry the same number.
David

I have a bottle I found in Atlanta Georgia I know its a machine botllei can not find any inf on it it is aqua green it is 8 inches tall 5 inches from top says Hagan & Dodd co below that it says red rock below that Atlanta Georgia on very bottom says red rock if any one can help me email me at loganwarrreng@yahoo.com thanks for any help

Hi,
You have a great site here! I have a blue bottle with frosted blue figures of Greek gods. The mark on the bottom looks like “ROAN.” I can’t seem to find it anywhere. It was in my parents house when they passed. They were both in their 90s.Is there a way to send you a picture?

Hi Janell,
(To readers): Janell sent me a pic by email (thanks Janell), and I have the marking now pictured on this site under the “DOAN” entry on “Glass Bottle Marks~page one”. Any information on attribution would be appreciated! Thanks!
David

Hello David – I’ve used your site before … LOVE IT! Question, my daughter found a bottle in our river. I’ve determined that it is Owens-Illinois. It is Amber in color and is shaped like a flask with a screw top. It has embossed on the top of the body “FEDERAL LAW PROHIBITS SALE OR RE-USE OF THIS BOTTLE”. It is a half pint. On the bottom it has the diamond with the O and the I in it. The numbers are located next to the logo (not to the right and left as some say they should be). They are as follows:
64
0 – 8 (or maybe D – 8?)
47
and the OI logo is to the left of these numbers which are lined up in the center of the bottom.

Hi Jolie,
Alot of the liquor flasks made by Owens-Illinois do not always have mold/date codes that are configured the same way as they usually are on other bottles, especially on soda bottles. I mention this on the Owens-Illinois page on this website. I’m not really sure how to read these codes. However, I am of the opinion (repeat: opinion) that the “47” is a date code for 1947. The “D-8” (and other D letter/number combos such as D-126) are often seen on the base of whiskey and other liquor bottles, and I think those numbers relate to distillery information in some way. Sorry, but I don’t have any other information on your bottle. Thanks for writing~
David

Jolie, Re-reading older posts, as an “add-on” to this question (posted over 3 years ago) I wanted to make a clarification. The “64” in this case is a “liquor bottle permit number” assigned to Owens-Illinois Glass Company, for their Alton, Illinois plant location. A list of liquor bottle permit numbers issued to various glass companies that produced liquor bottles can be brought up easily with a keyword search on google using those four words. I was not aware of this information when your question was first published in July of 2013.
~David

Hi David, great site with loads of info. I was wondering if you could help me. I have a large glass jug, marked 500cl, 70mm, 3, with a N in a circle all on the bottom. It has a lovely shaped handle fully intact. The only info I could find was maybe Obear-Neston? Do you know of any other company worldwide with this mark, as I am actually in Australia. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hello Jen,
You are right to question whether it could be Obear-Nestor. I can state with confidence that it is NOT an American-made container. The “500cl” and “70mm” markings show it to be a product made (almost certainly) outside the US…… possibly a company in Europe or Asia. The Bucher Emhart Punt marks database Punt Mark Library (this is a pdf file) shows “N in a circle” was used by Nozaki Glass Company, of Japan, but I can’t find any really pertinent info concerning that company online. Unfortunately, I know very little about glass manufacturers in Australia. It is possible it was made there (?) Hopefully someone can put together a fairly complete list of marks from Australia (including recent/modern marks) and post them online. Thanks for your query, and sorry I can’t be of much help.
Best regards,
David

Thanks so much. The measurements confused me too in relation to US standards.. Mind you, cl measurements haven’t been used for quite some time over here either. Thank you so much for the leads. Will keep searching and if I find any more info will post to you for your database. Cheers.

Hi David, its Valerie now I have a full brown bottle seams on the corner to the top. On the bottom has 2 circles with a diamond in the middle. The circle in the middle end up to 11 or LL. Real hard to tell its been in Grandma’s garage for who know how long.

Hi David,
Just want to thank you for your wonderful site. I volunteer at a Thrift Shop in Malibu and research a wide range of items from couture and fine china to vintage bottles and memorabilia. Guess I love learning new things especially those pertaining to history. I have one of the AB bottles with the connecting AB and have read the page on this mark. I guess these are quite common here in the west. What I can’t figure out is what the “X” stands for at 7 o’clock on the bottom. At 5 o’clock there is the number “5” which I am going to assume is the year.
Thanks again and keep up the awesome work you’re doing!!
Best,
Lianna

Hi Lianna,
Thanks for your kind comments about the site! Concerning the letter/number pair combination situated directly underneath the AB mark: No one, as far as I know, is absolutely certain what their purpose was. However, I am of the opinion (repeat: opinion) that they are mold and/or “shop” identifiers. Meaning, they identified a particular bottle mold and/or the “shop” (group of several workers assigned to producing bottles from that mold).

When a number of identical molds were being used simultaneously to produce bottles, each mold carried a different number to identify it. If problems developed with the finished bottles, the defective mold could be quickly pinpointed.

Many letter and number combinations are found on these bottles. I don’t know if a list of these markings exists on the internet (yet) but it is likely someone, somewhere is currently compiling such a list as we speak! I think there are many dozens (maybe over a hundred?) of letter/number combos that have been seen or recorded. Also……I am quite sure they are NOT date codes. If there is a date code on these bottles, it would be situated on the heel, not the very bottom.

I have an amber bottle about quart size -looks like an applied top. On bottom is round smooth indentation about an inch in diameter. Around that it says “New Albany Glas Works” (The one S in glass intentional) Can you tell me about when it was made-is it relatively common?

Hello David,
I went for walk with my dog this morning and happened to find an interesting bottle. Round top, with four curve bottom. Letters on bottom patd, H mark with letter A under middle line, 9 on same line and numbers at bottom 6214 set up as patd
H with A under middle line 9
6214
Can you give me any info on this find? Bottle is approx 5-6 inches tall with narrow lightbulb shape on each side-wide on top narrows to bottom with 4 curved bottom.
thank you Terry

Hi Terry,
Your bottle was made by Hazel-Atlas Glass Company; please see my page on Hazel-Atlas. However, I’m not sure from your description what type of bottle it is, or what it might have contained. Can you send me a picture of the bottle (to the email address mentioned at the bottom of the page).
Thanks for writing,
David

Great site! Just wondering if you add makers marks to the pages when you find or have new ones sent to you? I have a bottle embossed Red River Mfg & Bottling Co. Denison, Tx. Makers mark on the base is a large “R”. I’ve only been able to find a short paragraph about the company, that was taken from a booklet in 1907.

Hello Greg!
Yes, sometimes I do add information to the site that has been sent in by readers. I should try to clarify something here, however. Most of the “makers’ marks” listed on this site are marks indicating the glass bottle manufacturer (itself), not the bottling company. I’m not familiar with that company, but am assuming that Red River Manufacturing & Bottling Company was a soda producer, and filled the bottles which were made by a glass company. (Are there any markings along the lower heel of the bottle which would indicate glassmaker?). There have been literally tens of thousands of soda, mineral water, and/or beer bottlers in business in the US for which bottles were made (by a glass manufacturer) with the name of the bottling company (or brewing company, etc) marked on the front. In many of those cases, there will also be a letter (or set of initials) on the base which corresponds to the name of the bottling company. So, in this case, it is not exactly a “makers’ mark” as defined by the average bottle collector, and these types of base markings are not usually listed (I mention this in my “introductory comments” on page one, but I’m sorry to say it is somewhat “buried” in the text!) In any case, I honestly don’t have the time, energy, or knowledge to list all of these bottling company names on this site. Nevertheless, I would like to see a pic of the bottle (I was wondering what style of bottle it would be………”hutch”, “crown-top” etc ) If you wish to, you are welcome to email a pic to davidrussell59 “at” att.net.
Thanks very much for your post!!
David

Hi JK,
I’m not familiar with that bottle, but I would assume that it contained soda, mineral water, beer or ale. There are thousands of different bottle variants known just from the state of New York.
The exact shape/style of the bottle can give info on approximate date range. If there is no makers’ mark, it won’t be easy to find out exactly what glass company manufactured the bottle. Information on the “J Wittmann” (owner of the bottler or brewery) might be found with a google search. The “J overlapping a W” is the monogram for Wittmann, and does not give any info on glassmaker. If you have a clear pic of the bottle (entire profile) please send it to davidrussell59@att.net. (If any readers of this site have concrete info on the bottle, please submit your comments!) THANKS! David

David:
C in a triangle: If it has one of its points pointing up, and all three corners are rounded, it is Consumers Glass from Canada. In print, the solid triangle is to represent a molten gob of glass, and is printed in red..with a white C. I worked there from 1969 to 1973, at the Kipling Avenue facility in west end Toronto. They purchased Dominion Glass while I was with them, and later, with debt problems came into the world of Owens Illinois.

Comments/Reader's posts (All comments must await moderation and will not be posted immediately). Because of mail volume received, and time and energy restraints, many questions cannot be answered individually, especially if the subject is already addressed elsewhere on this site. This site is NOT intended as an appraisal service, but as a resource for background info on glass companies and their marks, so I usually delete "What is this bottle worth?" types of queries. Thank you very much for your patience & understanding! Cancel reply

Privacy Policy

Thanks for checking out the GlassBottleMarks site!

If you have friends or family members who are interested in antiques, bottles, fruit jars, insulators, tableware or other types of vintage glass, please consider sharing this site with them on Facebook or other social media sites. (Look for the 'LIKE' buttons located above the "Comments" section).

NOTE: Because of time and energy constraints, I may not be able to answer all emails personally, but you can contact me directly at: david__russell59 "at" att "dot" net. (Remove underscore between first and second portions of address).

Please bookmark this site and I hope you will return often. Thank you for your understanding & support!